Pokémon Go: a game changer for Augmented Reality

Believe it or not, it has taken Pikachu to reveal the world the many uses that Augmented Reality can offer to us. AR has been in the radar of Tourism and Healthcare sectors for a while, but only the Pokémon Go boom has been able to connect the mainstream public with Augmented Reality in the way Nintendo is doing it.

After many attempts no other application of Augmented Reality triggered people’s behaviour in the same way. Pokémon Go is the start of a new paradigm, similar to what it meant the Bosman Law to the European Union in the mid nineties. Freedom of movement to work anywhere in the EU was better understood with this football example, and soon the british clubs could hire the best players regardless their nationality.

Pokémon Go is already a game changer for Augmented Reality. It has proven to make people get moving and getting out, as the streets are the game scenery. In terms of marketing, you have the ability to direct potential consumers to places, and the best of it is that they are willing to do so. Because they are having fun playing. The potential impact is huge.

Facts: average daily use of Pokemon Go is 33 minutes. More than Facebook, Twitter, or WhatsApp. Pokemon Go is searched in Google more than porn. In just a week available in the UK it’s being downloaded more times than Tinder. Income in the first day the game was released it was 5 million dollars. Nintendo’s shares have soared in 50% since the game was released.

It is the booming of the Augmented Reality, with still loads of room for improvement. Brands as Toyota have been using it for a while, either for using it in their cars, or as a marketing tool. Volkswagen launched MARTA, its AR application to help repair its cars engines.

Augmented Reality has been evolving for a few years now, but the launch of Pokémon Go has set milestone, as very shortly no one will ask what is AR (as nobody ignores anymore what the Wi-fi is). Also, it is going to help marketers understand the added value of the use of Augmented Reality, as the marketers are already taking advantage of the many uses in the Nintendo’s game (McDonalds as the biggest company using it). Pikachu has managed to do more in a week than years of the industry talking about the huge potential of this technology. Many companies will develop their own “Pokémon Go” Apps.

Do we develop apps using Augmented Reality? Indeed, and we adapt it to different sectors such as Healthcare, Banking, Insurance, Luxury. Pikachu is here to stay!!

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